


Sculpted vision

by Oh_well_Em_writes



Series: Makeup boys [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Liam Dunbar-centric, Liam's eyes appreciation, Light Angst, M/M, Makeup, Makeup on Boys, boys can wear makeup, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-07-25 18:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16203488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_well_Em_writes/pseuds/Oh_well_Em_writes
Summary: Liam and mascara. There's this feeling of being insecure, and beautiful, and invincible.There's Theo, too. Who turns the world around._I really suck at summaries, maybe I'll think of something better later on. Here's a snippet of the story for you in case a proper summary never comes!_" [...] Liam feels the silence weight on his shoulders. He bites the inside of his cheeks, staring at himself in the mirror; at his blue eyes and at his eyelashes.“Liam.” she says, turning his way, and he jumps back slightly at the sudden mention of his name. “Do you want to try some on?”The question makes his throat a little dry. He swallows, waits a second. Two.He nods, shrugging."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [This](http://constantlycoveredincathair.tumblr.com/post/177328099689/edgelord-zuuko-marsza-marsza-i-was-doing) started it all...  
> .  
> .  
> .
> 
> I hope you enjoy! x
> 
> (P.S. Name change. Framed vision -> Sculpted vision. In case anyone was being confused! Enjoy haha)

Nights out with his sister weren’t unusual. Getting ready together in the bathroom in silence, or with background music, wasn’t either. What was unusual was how his mind suddenly stopped thinking about anything when she leaned towards the mirror and opened her lips, mascara in hand and eyes wide open.

His own hands stop trying to tame his mop of hair, and he stares at her as she applies the dark substance on her eyelashes, watching them get higher and higher, opening her eyes up and making the blue stand out.

She meets his gaze in the mirror when she’s done, and he straightens slightly. He thinks back of Nolan in the club the other night, some of Brett’s drink having fallen on his face because of the height difference, and the dark smudge that has gotten under his eyes as he tried to get rid of the alcohol. Liam had stared a moment, wondering where the dark thing had come from, until the boy had sighed angrily “my mascara!”

For some reason, it had stayed stored in the back of his mind, each time he saw Nolan he would think about it, and stare at his eyes trying to check if the boy was wearing it during Lacrosse practice, or during study sessions. He usually didn’t.

“Did you know that some boys wear mascara?” he asks Emma, because he feels like he has to say something after being caught staring. She chuckles softly as she stares at her own face, making sure this or that is not too dark, he guesses.

“Yeah, of course, I know some dudes that put more than I do.” she exclaims, glancing his way a second before coming back to stare at her own eyelid.

Liam nods, and his hands start moving again in his hair.

A few minutes later though, he finds himself talking again. “There’s a guy in the Lacrosse team that wears it sometimes. It’s kinda… cool, I guess.”

She doesn’t answer him, and Liam feels the silence weight on his shoulders. He bites the inside of his cheeks, staring at himself in the mirror; at his blue eyes and at his eyelashes.

“Liam.” she says, turning his way, and he jumps back slightly at the sudden mention of his name. “Do you want to try some on?”

The question makes his throat a little dry. He swallows, waits a second. Two.

He nods, shrugging.

She smiles, nodding as well, starting to rummage through her makeup bag. Liam realises there’s a lot in there. “Have you wanted to try for a long time?” she asks him as she occupies herself.

He clears his throat. “I don’t know… Not really wanted to _try._ ” he explains, even though he knows it is a bit of a lie, and that she probably knows it. She hums, nodding again as she straightens and holds out a black mascara tube.

“Really?” she asks, and Liam thinks about it as second, before thinking that he’s already in the boat so he might as well admit it.

“Well, I just… felt a bit, I don’t know, I didn’t really know if I wanted to try it on myself.” he answers. He knows that what he just said technically meant that he had thought about it, and that he was just intimidated to do so, in the end. He doesn’t really mind it, because Emma is staring up at him and she’s got that soft, reassuring smile that only older sisters seem to know the use of.

“It’s okay.” she tells him, stepping closer and opening the tube. Liam stares at it. “We’re doing it now, so just stay still and don’t blink.” she states, a hand up with the brush, the other on his shoulder, bringing him down slightly.

His body somehow resists, straightening and leaning back from the threatening brush coming too close to his open and vulnerable eye.

“Liam, stop moving backwards!” she exclaims, laughing. He leans back towards her with a scoff.

“You’re going to poke me in the eye, don’t go so fast!” he says when she comes closer again. She shakes her head.

“I do this everyday, I won’t _hurt_ you!” he wiggles out of her hold again, and she sighs.

“I’m gonna get a chair. Wait here.” she instructs, and hands him the brush before disappearing. Liam waits, staring at his eyes in the mirror. When she comes back, she gestures at him to sit down, and gets the brush back.

“Okay, now we’re doing it. Eyes open, blink when I tell you to. Slowly so you don’t smudge it all over your face, yeah?” she says, and he nods. She comes closer, and he flinches, not used to it. She stops, brush an inch from his eyeball, and gives him the ‘are you seriously going to do that all along?’ look, head titled to the side, an eyebrow raised.

He scoffs. “Sorry, I’m not used to it.”

She chuckles at that, and finally comes closer, managing to do an eye without too much of a disaster. Luckily the other doesn’t go too bad either, and Liam finds himself waiting a second once she’s done, before standing up and facing the mirror. He stares at himself, looking up, down, watching the way his eyelashes move and how weirdly heavy they feel.

“I...” he starts, frowning slightly. His thumb gets rid of the black stain underneath his left eye. “I’m not sure if I like it.” he says, his eyes not leaving his own face. He can see his sister at the corner of his vision though. She’s watching him, the same soft smile tugged slightly at her lips. She just shrugs though.

He doesn’t know if he’d have wanted her to say anything anyway. They stand in silence as he looks at his reflection a little longer, and she finally talks.

“Well, it’s fine if you don’t know. No big deal.” she shrugs again, a hand gently patting his shoulder. His eyes catch hers in the mirror. “You just wipe it off and it’s gone. You want me to pass you a wipe?” she asks, and Liam looks at himself again. He tilts his head to the side, looking at his blue eyes and the dark eyelashes.

“No, actually, I like it.” he says, a smile finding its way to his lips at the voiced confession. He feels proud. And powerful. He looks at himself with a smirk before turning around and facing her, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I’ve always had nice eyes, but now I’m just unstoppable.” he tells her, and she burst out laughing.

* * *

That night in the club, he keeps it on, and when he takes breaks in the bathroom, he checks in the mirror, making sure he didn’t make a mess out of it by scratching his eye while momentarily forgetting about their newly found condition.

No one seems to notice, or at least doesn’t point it out, the dim atmosphere of the club probably hiding it more than in full sunlight.

The sense of being powerful and unstoppable, _irresistible_ even, doesn’t leave him at all that night. Doesn’t either when he lays in bed and the mascara is gone.

* * *

A week or so later, Liam finds himself staring into his own soul in the mirror’s bathroom, the blue of his eyes reflecting the light. He feels something inside tug at him, and he tries to ignore it. It only works for a minute before his own feet bring him to his sister’s room.

He stands in the door frame a second as he watches her sat in front of her big mirror, brushing her hair. She is getting ready for bed, and he’s getting ready for a night out. They usually manage to go out together, or at least the same night, but Emma has a job interview the next morning, and as much as the two of them would like her to tag along, she really can’t.

Liam finally steps in. “So, how’s the mascara going?” he asks her as she grabs a wipe to take it off. She stares at his reflection in the mirror a second, her eyes squinted suspiciously, hand in the air. A smile appears on her face and Liam knows she’s seen right through him.

She silently lowers her hand, putting the wipe down without using it. Liam doesn’t stop looking at her as he walks to her bed and sits down behind her. She looks for something in her makeup bag, and Liam doesn’t see what it is until it’s flying his way as she says with a wink: “It’s doing good.”

Liam holds both hands out, catching the thing she threw his way. When he opens them, he finds the mascara. He can’t help the smile taking over his face.

“Have fun tonight.” she tells him, chuckling when she catches his eyes.

“Thanks! Good luck tomorrow!” he says excitedly, starting to walk away with a wave over his shoulder.

* * *

Doing it himself ends out with the brush in his right eye, and both eyes squeezed shut as he tries to get rid of the sting. When he opens his eyes again, he’s met with his reflection; eyes smeared in black, the right one a bit red. He almost laughs at how ridiculous he looks.

He washes his face out with water, does his hair as he waits for his eyelashes to be dry. He tries again, more patiently, and it doesn’t turn out too bad. Maybe there are some parts where it seems a bit compacted, but it still looks natural enough for him to go out confidently.

He’s happy to see the way it outlines his eyes again, and how that powerful feeling is back.

Mason picks him out, and after a moment of silence, as he pulls out from the front yard, he speaks.

“You look great.”

Liam’s stomach fills with both pride and fear at that. He knows his best friend wouldn’t judge him about the whole makeup thing, but he can’t stop the paranoid thoughts that start to spin in his mind.

He still looks up at Mason, who’s watching the road, only meeting his eyes briefly when Liam mumbles a quick ‘thanks.’ The way he smiles somehow throws Liam’s worry out the window. He hopes they get run over by the car following them, while they’re at it. He doesn’t want to see them ever again.

* * *

The second person that night finding out about the mascara is Nolan himself, when he’s dancing close to Liam, his eyes burning through him almost uncomfortably; he’s not used to be hit on that obviously, even though it happens more and more the older he gets.

A friend watching him this way still makes Liam feel a bit weird, even if Nolan hits on everyone when he’s drunk too much and they're all kind of used to it by now.

“Have you done something special tonight?” he asks, his words a bit slow. Liam frowns slightly, laughing.

“What do you mean?”

“Your eyes look different.” he says, titling his head. Under the intense gaze and the obvious comment, Liam looks down, suddenly finding his own feet all too interesting. But soon enough, Nolan’s face is blocking the way, looking up at him with a goofy smile.

“It suits you, don’t be embarrassed.” he chuckles, an arm circling his torso and bringing Liam closer. Liam smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading !  
> Kudos and comments are highly appreciated, and so is constructive criticism, of course.  
> Hope to see you soon. x


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here. Thiam is coming...
> 
> Hope you enjoy c:

For a month now, each time he goes out he's at his sister’s bedroom door, or nudges her carefully when she's just finished to put mascara on next to him in the bathroom.

They don’t really mention it, just knowing eyes and encouraging smiles from her, and nods and winks from him. Silent agreements on something new, new for Liam, familiar for Emma. She's there to provide him with it without a word, siblings supporting each other with no words needed.

One time though, he’s getting ready and she’s not home, visiting her boyfriend for a few days – with all her stuff. And the mascara. And Liam misses it. He finds himself staring at his reflection and it doesn’t look as good as it should, a little something that usually goes  with not knowing where this emptiness comes from. But Liam knows – his eyelashes are not as dark as he wants them to be, not as long, not making his eyes pop up like they should. A crucial thing is missing from his outfit, as Mason would say.

He just sighs, shaking his head at himself, telling his reflection he still looks good without it, and gets over it. The thought of having one himself tickles his brain; How much easier it’d be to have one in his bag, without having to ask or notify her. One of his own.

It stays in a corner of his head, feeling heavier and heavier with each passing day.

And one day, just like that, the decision is taken. It’s the most terrifying thing he’s ever had to do. He knows he could have asked Emma to do it for him, find the easy way out, contouring the dearded thing that needs to be done. He knows he could even have asked her to have the simple black mascara they've silently agreed was the one he needed each time he went out, she would have shaken her head fondly and said yes, of course she would have, because she has so many different ones anyway, and she knows how much it means to Liam, now.

But he feels like it is something he should do himself.

He’s standing alone in the makeup aisle in Walmart, the list of snacks everyone wants for the party at Mason’s clenched in his sweaty palms. It has been decided it was his turn to go and Liam tells himself it’s the best opportunity.

He stares at the many cosmetic products, blue, red, black, so many colours and shapes he barely knows where to look at. He finally manages to find the mascaras, crouches down to have a better look and just searches for the one his sister used to lend him.

He doesn’t find it though, the more time he stays there, his legs starting to make him known he should shift a bit, his forehead starting to pearl with sweat, the more he wants to run away. The sound of the people walking around him are tuned away, replaced by the pounding of his heart.

“Excuse me?” a feminine voice says behind him, and Liam jumps slightly, losing balance and falling backward with a yelp. He manages to catch himself before his butt touches the floor, and scrambles to get up. The girl is chuckling slightly, her head tilted to the side.

Liam quickly catches sight of the dark blue shirt she is wearing, signalling that she works for the shop. “Do you need any help? I’ve been refilling the aisle right there and have noticed you haven’t done much.” she says kindly, her smile stopping Liam from completely freezing at the knowledge he’d been noticed in his distress.

“Yeah well...” he starts, his voice a little higher than it usually is. He feels the red darken on his cheeks as he clears his throat, turning away from the girl. He gestures at the mascaras. “I was looking for a mascara… a really simple one, really, and um...” he clears his throat again when she crouches beside him. “The packaging is black but I don’t think it matters if it’s not the exact same one...” he finishes, words slow and seeming to bump into each other. He isn't sure if what he said made any sense. She nods at him when their eyes meet.

“Okay, no problem, I can find that for you.” she smiles, and turns towards the products, her hands starting to search through them as Liam stares and tries to tame the red of his cheeks and the beating of his heart.

She gets 3 different ones, handing her find to him. He nods as a thanks and look at them. “These ones are the simplest I could find. This one-” she says, pointing at the red packaging. “- is the less expensive, so I’d recommend it.”

He nods again, looking up at her with a smile. “Thank you. I’ll take this one then.” he tells her, handing the two others back and getting up. He watches her as she puts them back in their place, and when she’s done and has stood up again, he thanks her and turns to walk away.

He stops in his tracks, though, when he hears her call after him.

"Wait!" He looks back at her, his eyes wide in question, the pounding of his heart starting all over again. She shakes her hands frantically in front of herself upon seeing his expression. "No, don't look like that! Do you maybe need some makeup remover? And some cotton?" she smiles apologetically and gestures to the products she just mentioned. Liam blinks twice in aim to get the panic away from his face, and he swallows. He nods silently, taking a few steps towards her as she smiles.

She helps him choose, and once the products are in his bag, he thanks her, noticing how bright her smile is, crinkles appearing at the side. They both nod as a goodbye, Liam smiling back at her before he turns around.

He walks straight to the snack aisle, finally allowing himself to breathe. The pride swelling in his stomach is so big that it spills from his lips – he can’t help grinning like a fool. It feels like such a big step that he feels invincible right now. Maybe then he’ll be brave enough to wear it out in full daylight, it’d be great.

* * *

He’s in a good mood. His hair looks surprisingly good, his eyes bluer than usual, the bags under his eyes lighter, somehow. He takes the decision as he drinks coffee with Emma in the kicthen, after she points out his good looks today.

He feels proud. He’s in front of the mirror, opening the mascara tube for the first time on his own, watching with attention as the brush slides out. He leans over as he’s learnt to do now, his lips unconsciously falling open slightly as he applies some on his eyelids. He puts less than when he goes out, it being the first time for him to wear it during the day, but he still finds his eyelashes darker, and longer, and there’s the same feeling of pride swelling in his stomach.

He loses a minute or two just looking at his eyes in the mirror, only realising he has to finish getting ready when Emma walks past the bathroom, goes back on her tracks, kicking his legs with a laugh and a 'you're going to be late, idiot!'.

* * *

And of course it happens, that day of all the days, something had to happen. Scott is calling for a meeting during lunch break, and Mason drives him and Corey in a hurry to the animal clinic – they would have rather been eating their fries than deal with threats. He’s frustrated, but he knows Scott doesn’t call them for nothing, replacing the slight anger forming in his stomach by worry.

They step into the clinic, most of the pack already there. The light is dim, as it usually is, and for some reason, the first eyes he finds are Theo's, who’s standing a bit at the back – suddenly, with his eyes locked with burning green ones, he’s reminded of his slightly heavier eyelashes, and something floods his stomach.

He looks at the floor instead, shuffling to stand next to Scott, feeling Theo’s eyes following his movement across the room. It makes his heart beat quicker, the feelings in his stomach taking a grip on his throat and making it hard to breathe. He doesn’t understand why it matters. Doesn’t understand why Theo noticing scares him to no end – he doesn’t care about Scott knowing, doesn’t care about the whole school knowing, but Theo’s eyes seem to see right through him already and the simple fact that he's there, and looking at Liam, makes his skin burn.

He’s determined to keep his face somewhat hidden behind his too-long bangs, and not look Theo's way for the whole period of time they're here and Scott, or someone else, is talking. The thought of meeting Theo's eyes now makes him shiver. He's determined not to be seen, or noticed. Determined to stay invisible.

But of course Theo doesn’t see it that way. He’s walking closer, shuffling almost imperceptibly Liam's way, staring over Lydia’s shoulder, still a little behind everyone else, but attentive nonetheless, and Liam feels like he can’t concentrate on anything because he’s pretty sure Theo stares at him instead of the pictures Scott is showing on his phone.

Liam makes sure to keep his head hanging low and titled to the side so his hair form a curtain preventing Theo to see his face. He knows his cheeks are red and he can hardly breathe, but the chimera makes it too hard. He’s too close, too seemingly focused on him, and Liam is driving himself insane.

He’s not able to think about anything else but the dark substance on his eyelashes, and how Theo is two steps away and his gaze is burning the side of his face, and Theo, Theo, Theo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theo, Theo! Everywhere! What could happen next??
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll see you for next chapter! Thank you if you leave a comment, and a kudo if you enjoy it so far! :D  
> I accept constructive criticism and I don't mind (I actually encourage it!) if you point out any typos/mistakes/non-senses.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some Thiam action! 
> 
> This chapter is on Theo's point of view. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!! x

Liam walks in behind Mason and Corey, his gaze barely roaming the room before locking with Theo’s. He stares a second, before lowering his eyes and shuffling to the side. Theo frowns slightly. Liam usually holds his gaze longer, and rolls his eyes or raises a brow challengingly. Or scoffs, even, but doesn’t cower away like that.

Theo guesses it’s because they’re not here to play around. He doesn’t know what’s going on yet, and even if he had asked, he knows the answer would have been ‘later, when everyone’s here’ which is, fair enough, the most intelligent thing to do – Scott doesn’t like to explain things twice, mostly when they’re unpleasant.

He can smell the anxiety in the room, and Scott checks everyone is there before starting to explain the situation, only Theo’s attention keeps being pulled to a certain someone standing in the corner of his eyes. Someone whose heart is somehow beating louder than before, and keeps fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt as he leans towards his alpha to listen.

Theo can’t help but feel like something is going on, more than the actual stress of the meeting and the knowledge of a new problem surfacing. Liam’s face is usually scrunched in the middle by a determined frown, his eyes staring attentively at Scott or whoever is doing the talking, but the frown isn’t here, and his gaze doesn’t seem to focus much on what’s going on in front of him, returning way too frequently to his feet.

Theo steps closer, both unconsciously and consciously, his body leaning towards the beta before his mind truthfully took the decision to move. The more it goes on, the louder Liam’s heart is beating, and the louder it gets, the closer Theo moves, stepping behind the people who are looking at Scott’s phone, only his eyes now don't leave Liam’s face.

It’s mostly hidden behind his bangs though, but Theo can see the redness of his cheeks, looking slightly damp, too, like he had just run a mile. His head and body are both facing Scott and his device, as if he had been looking, but his head seems titled too much towards the floor for Liam to truly see a thing on the screen.

There’s something about the way he breathes – quicker, irregular. And he stinks of anxiety.

“You okay there?” he asks finally, conversations around him stopping and the ones part of it turning around, but somehow Liam doesn’t look up, just tenses when Theo talks. He turns his head away, gaze still staying low, and it starts to anger Theo.

“What the hell is up with you?” he adds, voice louder than before, with more heat, too. And Liam’s shoulders are all tight and he’s standing straighter than ever since he’s walked in, but his head is still down, his hair forming a curtain making it hard for Theo to see his face.

The chimera reaches for Liam’s shoulder, his hand making him jump to the side, and look up, finally meeting Theo’s eyes, face all red and eyes wide, glistening, but it only lasts a second. The sight almost makes Theo’s eyes flash golden, for a reason he doesn’t want to admit.

Then Liam is bolting out of the room and Theo hesitates a second, Mason immediately starting to follow his best friend. He only hesitates a second before springing into action and stopping the other boy. “I’ll do it.” he almost growls out, and Mason is now the one to hesitate a second. Theo sees him meeting Scott’s eyes, who’s now standing behind them both, before he nods slightly, not without a frown, and takes a small step back.

Theo quickly walks outside, following after Liam and his crazy heartbeat and suffocating anxiety scent. He’s not that far, leaning against the wall, head once again facing away, the bangs still preventing Theo to get a good look at his face. He seems to be looking at himself in the reflection of his phone, frenetically rubbing his eyes as if to stop tears from flowing out.

Theo heads his way, his steps long and determined, threatening sounding maybe, because Liam turns around and when he catches his eyes, he looks away and begins to run. He barely takes two steps before Theo has caught up with him and gotten hold of his wrist, stopping him in his course.

“Let me go!” Liam shouts, head facing away and Theo can only imagine his eyes flashing gold in distress.

“No.” he says from the back of his troat, lowly, a semblance of calmness in the quiet of his tone. He isn’t anything but calm though, Liam’s frantic heart is resonating in his head, and his own just tunes with it even though he tries to stop it from happening. “Tell me what’s going on with you!”

Liam shakes his head, the tip of his long hair dancing left and right on his nape at the movement. Theo has never hated more this mop of hair. It drives him insane to know Liam’s face is red and he looks like he’s been crying, hate to have Liam try to run away from him. Something inside Theo twists painfully at the thought.

“Look at me.” he growls, the hand on Liam’s wrist tugs him backwards, the other landing on his shoulder to pin him against the wall next to them. He catches sight of Liam’s face when his back hits the wall, thankfully not as harshly as Theo would have feared. He flashes the yellow of his eyes, and Liam’s glow in return.

Then the bright gold is fading, and huge blue eyes stare back, scared and glistening, one of them adorned with a light black smudge at the corner. The red of Liam’s cheeks makes it worse.

Theo’s anger disappears, the frown on his face smooths itself away, the sounds around fade. Theo can hardly breathe.

“Are you happy now?” Liam screams, anger mixed with something sad, it’s an accusation, it’s full of resentment and it echoes loudly in Theo’s head.

He doesn’t understand why Liam’s so angry at him, doesn't understand if it is directed at him because he’s the one to have followed him, or if he truly is the source of it – even though the source of anything is a mystery to him. He doesn't know if he's ever felt so lost.

Maybe the source of everything is actually the fact that his senses focus too much on Liam. And that he actually cares about what he sees, or hears, or smells.

But, his mind goes back to the question he’s been asked. Is he happy about having followed Liam outside and be standing right there, in this exact moment, looking at that exact face? He can almost say yes.

“Yeah.” he breathes, and really, he had not meant to say it. He swears he hears Liam’s heart skip a beat – or maybe was it the sound of his own?

“Stop messing with me!” Liam says, his voice harsh. He trashes his arm around in hope to have Theo let go of his wrist. It only makes him hold on tighter, pining it against the wall at the height of their shoulders. Trying to push Theo away only makes him come closer.

If he wasn’t holding Liam’s shoulder with one of his hands, he could have done so with his chest. If he wasn't so overwhelmed by emotions, he would have thought of himself as predatory. But Liam is not a prey. Liam isn't someone he could hurt. Ever.

Theo watches as Liam’s free hand comes before his eyes, hiding them away, then his whole head is in the crook of his elbow. The fact that he feels the need to hide from Theo enrages him, and he tears the arm away from Liam’s face.

“What do you mean? What’s up with your e-” and then he freezes. This is why his eyes look so huge and blue and _hypnotising._ This is why Liam has been avoiding his gaze. His eyelashes are brushed higher than usual, are darker than usual, and the emotions flooding Theo's chest at the realisation prickle his eyes.

Liam has given up the fight, his arms dangling by his side lifelessly, Theo’s hands still holding his shoulder and wrist. He’s biting his lips, and it looks almost painful. But he’s watching Theo’s feet, head low again, and Theo is dying to see his face, to stare at it, explore it. To map each shade of blue that can be found in his eyes, and the shadows his lashes cast over his irises.

And there are so many things going on in Theo’s head that his body thinks before he can make up of what the tornado inside means, and his hand is lifting Liam’s face up, two fingers underneath his chin, and Liam somehow doesn’t fight it.

It’s going slowly. He feels as if both are not themselves, spirit higher than their body, flying somewhere but meeting still. Maybe time has truly slowed down.

He stares at Liam, and Liam lets him. Lets his gaze travel his face, travel the redness of his cheeks, the bangs he hated a moment ago now seemingly so important in the way they frame his face, the defeated look in his eyes, the dark that contours them. He’s mesmerized by how beautiful it looks. By how beautiful Liam is.

His fingers drop from Liam’s chin, and somehow both of them know he can, know Liam is not going to lower his head, or gaze, or risk breaking the atmosphere. The same hand goes up to the dark smudge underneath Liam’s eye, and he runs the pad of his thumb along it.

He does it once, twice, slowly and again, and only stops when the darkness has mostly faded. Liam’s eyes are closing softly each time he comes too near, fluttering open when he’s done, locking with Theo’s. They’re blue, bluer than a minute ago, each time bluer, sincere, open, vulnerable.

It makes Theo’s chest clench painfully, his heart trying to break out.

“Why do you want to hide it?” he asks, more a breath than a voice. Theo stares at Liam’s face, whose rosy cheeks seem to catch fire again. Liam’s teeth catch his bottom lips, he looks down a second, then up at Theo again. The latter almost sighs from relief; he wouldn’t have handled Liam fleeing his gaze again.

He looks back at him, lower-lip invisible, eyes like ones of a child, and no answer seems to make its way to his tongue, so Theo just reads his eyes and he didn’t even need that, because he already knew the answer.

How he finds the courage to let his thumb brush against Liam’s cheekbone, lean in instead of speaking, is beyond himself. Where that softness his actions seem to be enveloped with has come from is a mystery to him. He’s still floating somewhere in the clouds, somewhere in the blue of Liam’s eyes.

His lips find Liam’s eyelid, whose eyes are fluttering close, and he kisses it. It last a second, and Liam seems to have stopped breathing. Theo focuses on his heartbeat, that seems to be as wild as his, and he finds comfort in that.

He takes another breath, shakier than he would have liked for the quietness of the moment, and his chest feels like closing up as he leans towards the other eye.

When he’s done, has straightened up again, Liam isn’t moving, his eyes closed still, somehow looking peaceful, contrasting every humanly imperceptible signals Theo can pick up.

A minute passes in silence. A silence they share with the pounding of their heart. And when Liam opens his eyes again, Theo stares at him; at how breathtaking he looks, how well the mascara fits him, and the words are at the tip of his tongue, fighting to get out, needing to get out.

And so Theo lets them.

“You’re so beautiful. Please don’t hide it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be an epilogue, so it doesn't truly end here but it still kinda does... 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it so far. I'll try to publish the epilogue fast enough.  
> Love you all. Please leave a comment to tell me your thoughts on this chapter, and on the whole story.  
> Thank you so much for reading! x


	4. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short epilogue... I hope you like it still, I feel it needed to be written, somehow?
> 
> We're back on Liam's point of view!
> 
> I hope you enjoy ❤️

Hearing the words from Theo mean so much more. More than his sister’s smile the second time he asked her for the mascara, more than Nolan accepting it without a second thought, more than what anyone has ever told him before.

The words replay in his head. At night when he’s trying to sleep, early in the morning on his way to school when music plays in his ears, during Sunday afternoons when his mother is cooking and he lingers there with her, chatting time away.

He has them engraved into his mind, in the most secret part. He has them running under his veins. He has them written at the end of the page 245 of his favourite book.

Theo’s eyes stare back at him when he closes his, a gaze darker than he has seen it, dark of desire and sincerity and deep, so deep Liam had been too close to stumble off the cliff.

The dark gaze follows him around, when he walks into the library and Theo is sat alone next to the stairs. It follows him when he walks to his locker, when he meets Mason at the cafeteria.  
And when his lashes are darker, on most days than not now, he dares to meet Theo’s eyes. He dares to dive into the pool of dark liquid, darker by the second.

Liam has no idea what could be under the surface, he has never truly known what was under Theo’s surface, but the equally black framing his blue eyes makes the liquid seem lighter – more approachable, somehow, but none the less fathomable. The sense of invincibility flowing in his veins along with the words spoken in a deep, almost hoarse voice, makes the mystery seem less threatening.

It colours his veins, darker, greener. Irises coursing along words, a mantra Liam knows better than the prayers he used to whisper at night in times of war.

Those words colour his life. And Theo is everywhere. And the contour of his body seems sharper around the edges, he’s clearer, brighter than the other forms in the crowds. The black clinging to Liam's lashes directs his eyes on him and him only, and somehow it isn’t scary.

Liam is reborn in another reality, with eyes darker, and it isn’t scary or threatening, it’s exhilarating. The world’s centre is not a tree, not a cloud, not an infinite sky; the centre is Theo, and so is the gravity.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, thank you for taking the journey with me! I hope you enjoyed it, if you didn't give me your opinion yet, don't hesitate to do it now! Constructive criticism is of course welcomed!
> 
> I hope to see you soon for another story! ❤️


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